Parents Burn American Flag While Encouraging Their Small Children At Mckinney Texas Protest

Protests in McKinney, Texas have once again stepped over the line. While protesting the actions of Eric Casebolt, a ten year veteran of McKinney's police force who was filmed taking down an unarmed girl at a pool party and drawing his gun, parents have been helping their children burn the American flag.

In pictures posted on Twitter by attendees at a protest, parents and children held small versions of the American flag together while flames wreathed and destroyed the Stars and Stripes. In the picture, the child is wearing a mask, presumably because the parent feared retribution or some sort of negative repercussion against their child.

Burning the American flag in protest has recently become a way for activists to show that they are deeply angered about an issue. However, the angst and destructive tendencies are misplaced and utterly wrong.

By burning the American flag and encouraging their children to do so as well, parents are telling their children that the problems they are protesting are inherent in America as a whole, which is simply not true.

Actions by individuals who wear police badges don't reflect the bias of America as a whole. In the McKinney, Texas case the actions of Officer Casebolt simply show his bad judgement and improper actions towards unarmed young people. They don't reflect a hatred of black people that is an integral part of America.

In fact, America is arguably the best place to live in the world. Americans enjoy more freedoms, more liberties, and more opportunities than anywhere else. If parents want to burn American flags and protest America itself, they are, in fact, acting hypocritically. I can guarantee there are few countries in the world that would look so liberally upon people desecrating the country's symbol and legacy.

Get a grip, America. Let's use the systems that are in place and which work so well in comparison with the rest of the world to use our free speech. We don't need to turn the blame on America.